Research funding

Timing alert!

NZTA's 2010/11 Research Programme

The 2009/12 National Land Transport Programme provides funding for sector research through the NZTA’s Research Programme.

In order to ensure that funding for research for the 2010/11 and 2011/12 Programmes continues to meet the objectives of the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport Funding (GPS) and the NZTA's Investment and Revenue Strategy (IRS), the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is now reviewing its Approach to Research 2009/12.

The review is because the GPS, released by the Minister of Transport in May 2009, and the NZTA's IRS, have changed the strategic context for funding decisions and have identified clear funding priorities for the future. The current version of NZTA’s Approach to Research 2009/12 was developed prior to these changes and is being reviewed to ensure that it aligns with the current strategic investment direction. The review will capture the role of the NZTA in relation to sector research, and its key research areas will be revised to provide clear direction to the research community.

As a consequence of the review, the current annual research timetable published in NZTA’s Approach to Research 2009/12 is no longer correct, and the revised Approach to Research and Expression of Interest (EoI) documentation will not now be released until later in 2009. We will inform you of the release date as soon as it is known.

Links to relevant documentation are:

2009/2012 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP)
Government Policy Statement on Land Transport Funding (GPS)
NZTA's Planning, Programming and Funding Manual
See section B1-8, page B1-17, where 15 addresses NZTA’s strategic investment direction for Sector Research

Further information about the timing for the 2010/11 Research Programme will be made available as soon as it is confirmed.

Research proposal process

Research programme funding is allocated through a competitive two-stage process:

Expressions of Interest (EOI) – Researchers submit short research proposal summaries (on the approved EOI form) that outline the research objectives, explain why the research is needed and identify end users. These are assessed by NZTA staff and the Research Reference Group (RRG), which is made up of representatives from key stakeholder groups. A shortlist of research proposals is prepared.
Requests for Proposal (RFP) – Researchers with short-listed proposals are requested to submit detailed proposals that expand on the information contained in the EOIs. These are assessed by NZTA staff and members of the RRG with appropriate expertise. The RRG considers the assessments and prepares a research programme for the NZTA Board’s consideration and approval.

Additional information

The following documentation will provide researchers with background information and may assist in making an EOI application. Please note that these documents do not need to be filled in at this stage of the application process.

Research agreement (Word doc, 214 KB): the research agreement has been revised and updated. Researchers with approved projects will be required to sign this research agreement.
Peer review guidelines (Word doc, 323 KB): the NZTA requires all projects to be peer reviewed by two or more external peer reviewers. This process ensures that projects are technically sound and deliver the agreed objectives. The peer review guidelines explain how this peer review process works
Previous years' research programmes: projects included in the past nine research programmes, listed by key research area, are detailed in the research programmes 2000/01 – 2008/09 (Excel spreadsheet, 120 KB).

Last updated: 2 September 2009